Category Archives: Life

This verse is part of a psalm of that was written when King David assigned Asaph and his relatives to the Lord. Many of the psalms are labeled as songs of Asaph.

This verse reminds me of the promise that those who seek God will find him. That promise is a comfort when I feel distant from God. However, this verse reminds me that I shouldn’t be just seeking God when I feel distant from Him. I shouldn’t just seek God when I difficult circumstances in my life. I need to seek Him all the time. I need to seek not just His strength, but His face.

I need His strength to face the difficult circumstances in my life. I also need his strength to run from temptation and to do His will. He has given me His Holy Spirit to be that strength for me, but I must learn to live by the Spirit and not by the flesh. I learn that by seeking His strength and not trying to use my strength.

I also need to seek His face. In my human relationships, it is important that I see people face to face. Long distance relationships (whether with friends, relatives, or my husband) can be strained, because there is less face to face contact. When Mike was working in India, he was gone 4 months before I was able to go over for a visit. While we could email, text, or Skype every day, there was nothing like being directly in his presence again.

It is the same with my relationship to God. I need to be in His presence. While He is present everywhere, there are times when I know He is speaking directly with me. Sometimes this happens during worship. Other times I am in prayer or reading the scriptures. Again, this verse reminds me that I need to seek His face, I need to know His thoughts, not rely on my own opinions.

I have been thinking on the tradition of Christmas letters. I was first introduced to the tradition by good friends of our family. They were like second parents to my brother and I. For years, they were the only one that I knew that sent them.

Fast forward to my college years. My roommate for two of the years in college was Lori. Her mom sent out Christmas letters each year. After she got married, she continued the tradition, as did her sisters. I enjoyed keeping up with my friends in this way, so I was inspired to begin the tradition. I don’t do it faithfully, but I do get it done in some years. Lori passed away 11 years ago, but every time Christmas comes around and I get letters from her mom and sisters or I actually get a letter out, I know she smiles down from heaven.

This year, I did not get it accomplished before Christmas, so a I am going to break with tradition, and send out a “New Year’s” letter. It has been several years since I sent a letter, and I don’t want to wait until next year. Perhaps I will start a whole new tradition…Or maybe I’ll go back to the pre-Christmas timeframe for next year.

We had a storm with very strong winds in our area this past week. As I watched the winds blow the trees around before the rain came, some random thoughts came to mind.

I first noticed the storm coming in, because of the movement of the trees in the backyard. The wind was blowing harder than I had seen it blow in some time. Also, the trees were bending back and forth, which we don’t see very often. I saw that we already had a broken limb that had come out of our maple tree, and was hung up on a limb on a nearby pine tree. That pine tree is about 60 feet tall, and the top 20 feet or so was swaying back and forth about 45 degrees from vertical each way.

The trees fascinated me. That a large pine tree could bend so far and not break amazed me. And yet, the maple tree already had a broken branch. It reminded me that I can bend with the winds of life, or I can break. But, how do I make sure I am bending, and not breaking?

Pine trees like to grow straight. I also have a direction that I like to grow. It may be a particular way of life or standard of living. It may be a church or ministry in which I have invested my time and talents. Whatever it is, I certainly don’t enjoy it when the winds of a storm blow me away from that direction.

If I refuse to bend, like the brittle maple branch, I am in danger of breaking. However, if I give up my pre-conceived notions about my life and bend with the winds, I can survive the storm unbroken. When the storm was over, the pine tree continued to grow straight. Many times after the storms in my life, I have been able to continue growing in the direction that I started.

However, even when I believe I have bent, a storm has permanently changed the direction of my life. I trust that these new directions are where God wants my life to go next. I think part of the bending process is the willingness to stay bent. For me, the hardest part is not knowing whether the bending is temporary or permanent. I struggle to trust God that He knows how much bending that I can handle before I break.

And sometimes I have broken. But thankfully, God is faithful to repair the damage like an expert arborist. Like the maple with the broken branch, I will always bear the scars of the breaks. However, like the maple I will continue to grow and flourish. Unlike the maple, I can learn and change, and become better at bending in the further.